Endovascular procedures have become the preferred method of intervention for patients with vascular and cardiovascular disease. These procedures allow lower complications rates and quicker recovery times because instead of making a large incision, only a small puncture, typically through the groin, is required for access. Guidewires, catheters, and interventional devices such as balloons and stents are then threaded through this puncture and guided through different blood vessels to access and treat the patient.
Guidewires are used to direct a catheter to an identified site within a cardiovascular or peripheral vascular system of a patient for the purpose of diagnosis and/or treatment. Catheters are used for administration of fluid, such a saline, contrast, or therapeutic agents, at the identified site. The guidewire is typically placed into a blood vessel of the patient and is directed by a medical practitioner to the identified site of the patient's body. A catheter is then advanced over the guidewire until the functional structure of the catheter is located in proximity of the identified site.
Different sizes/gages of guidewires and different sizes of catheters may be used during a surgical procedure for different applications. Thus, multiple guidewires, catheters and other devices are typically laid out for access during a surgical procedure. Management of guidewires, catheters, and interventional devices during surgical procedures can become an unwanted distraction. Used guidewires or catheters have conventionally been coiled up manually and held down on an operating table with wet towels, held in a water basin, simply placed on the operating table, or sometimes fall to the floor after being used.